Judge rejects House lawsuit to block transfer of funds for border wall
A federal judge on Monday rejected a request from House Democrats to stop President Trump from spending unappropriated funds on his southern border wall.
Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington, D.C., said the House does not have the proper legal standing to sue the president, but does have "several political arrows in its quiver to counter perceived threats to its sphere of power. These tools show that this lawsuit is not a last resort for the House."
The lawsuit states that by transferring funds appropriated for other matters to the wall project, Trump is violating the Constitution's Appropriations Clause. In May, a judge in California issued a preliminary injunction that blocked Trump from using funds designated for the military to replace 51 miles of fence along the border. In that case, the lawsuits were brought by states and advocacy groups.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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